Health and Safety Risk Assessment Checklist

  • Carrying out health and safety risk assessments are part of an employer’s duties when it comes to complying with the Health & Safety At Work etc Act 1974.
  • The steps to carrying out a successful risk assessment are:
    • Identify the risks and hazards
    • Identify who may be harmed
    • Evaluate the risks
    • Record your findings
    • Review
  • A Health and Safety Lawyer can help you run an effective risk assessment

Why Health and Safety Risk Assessments are Necessary

Health and safety assessments are absolutely essential in ensuring that workplace risks are found and managed effectively.  The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR 1999) states, “every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient assessment of (a)the risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and (b)the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking”.  The law, therefore, confers a duty on employers to protect the health and safety of employees, contractors, and visitors.

By identifying and eliminating or mitigating risks, businesses can protect their workers from accidents or injury in the workplace.  But to do so effectively requires progressive and creative thinking.  This is because threats are continually evolving, given modern work practices, new technology, and other external factors.  

It must be stressed that employers not only have a legal duty to protect the physical well-being of individuals but also their mental health.  For this reason, health and safety risk assessments should aim to find and remove threats to mental health, including bullying, harassment and threats of violence and intimidation.

What are the steps in a Health and Safety risk assessment?

Health and Safety risk assessment is an ongoing process, and should include the following steps:

Step 1: Identify the risks/hazards

Employers should firstly identify all risks by looking at each location within the business premises and reviewing all work processes.  It should not be assumed that only core operational functions require a risk assessment.  For example, a manufacturing business will need to look beyond its factory floor and should include offices, food areas, car-parking, warehousing, and transportation.  Consider processes which are carried out less regularly, such as maintenance, exterior cleaning, or changing production processes.  And it also vital you take into account risks to long-term health, such as poor posture, loud noise, and vibration.

The purpose of this stage is to look for anything which may cause injury, physical or mental injury to individuals who come into contact with your operation in any of your premises.  

Each risk identified should be documented in a clear and consistent manner.  Larger businesses may consider using specialist health and safety software to ensure risks are catalogued properly; this will make the next stages of the process much easier.

The HSE recommend looking at records of previous injuries and reviewing of manufacturer’s instructions for workplace equipment to identify hazards you may not have previously considered.  It is also useful to ask employees for their opinion on workplace risks.

Step 2: Identify who may be harmed

Now you have identified risks within the workplace, you will need to assess who might be harmed and how.  When thinking about who may be harmed, remember not to make assumptions.  Some groups of individuals may have specific health and safety needs, including inexperienced staff members, young employees, those with specific injuries or disabilities, lone workers, contractors, or night workers.  

The potential risk to members of the public who come into contact with your premises should also be considered.  For example, while you may provide suitable PPE for workers on a construction site, what about members of the public walking past who may be at risk of a falling object?

Step 3: Evaluate the risks

You will now need to assess the level of risk and how you can minimise or remove it.  Again, by using specialist health and safety risk assessment software (or even a spreadsheet template designed for this purpose), the task can be completed more efficiently.  It is advisable to prioritise risks which have the potential for significant damage/injury and for which the likelihood of occurrence is higher.  

Ultimately, not all hazards can be removed entirely, but their impact may be mitigated.  As an employer, you are expected to undertake steps which are ‘reasonably practicable’ and proportionate to the risk.  This is sometimes referred to as making a risk ‘As Low As is Reasonably Practicable’ (ALARP).  This may be achieved, depending on the specific risk, by:

  • Reorganising the workplace
  • Putting warning signs in place
  • Limiting time for a given task
  • Adjusting a workers seat and desk position
  • Providing PPE
  • Changing from a standing working position to a seating position
  • Implementing new processes and procedures

Step 4: Record your findings

Employers with over five employers must keep a written record of their health and safety risk assessment findings and decisions.  Your records should clearly show that an assessment was undertaken, staff members were consulted, identified hazards were managed, and that any remaining risk is low.

If you discover hazards which may impose considerable consequences, a long-term strategy may be required to bring the risk to an acceptable level.

Step 5: Review

As previously stated, health and safety risk assessment is an ongoing process.  It is important to undertake a business-wide assessment at set intervals.  Even if you believe that nothing has changed, you should still repeat the full process.  Workplaces are highly dynamic and even the smallest changes can pose a significant risk to health and safety.

A Health and Safety Risk Assessments means you’re prepared 

Health and safety risk assessments may not be the most glamourous of workplace tasks, but they can truly save lives.  Organisations which take this task seriously stand to gain the most benefit.  Accidents in the workplace have the potential to cause personal loss, in addition to halting business operation and imposing financial and reputational damage.  As such, health and safety risk assessments are worth their weight in gold.

If you require expert legal advice and representation concerning a health and safety investigation or prosecution, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

Tanveer Qureshi has a robust track record of successfully advising and representing companies and directors on health and safety matters. If you require legal representation, please get in touch with Tanveer directly at tqureshi@libertaschambers.com or via his Chambers, Libertas Chambers on ​020 7036 02000.

Author bio

Tanveer Qureshi specialises in general crime, white-collar crime, and regulatory investigations and prosecutions. He has over 20 years’ experience and is passionate about ensuring his clients get results and achieve justice. When not pouring over case briefs, Tanveer gets up at 4.30am to get his gym workout done and is a committed motorsports fan.